Men…

While scrolling through my instagram feeds yesterday, Something caught my eye, no it was not the amazing #DeepVeer wedding posts or funny videos, but rather a post celebrating the men in our lives. It was about International Men’s Day.

What is International Men’s Day?

It is a day celebrated every year on the 19th of November, it is a day when we focus on issues affecting men and boys, a day when we talk about male health, improving gender relations, highlighting male role models but most importantly, it is a day when we also focus on gender equality. While International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated in over 100 countries, International Men’s Day is celebrated in only 70 countries.

I decided to send all the men in my life a sweet “Happy International Men’s Day” message. You want to know what the sad thing was, none of them even knew a day like this existed! Many people did not know that there is a day for men as well. If you look on your feed on IWD, there will be hundreds and thousands of posts celebrating women, but yesterday…. a handful of only 2000 posts about international men’s day.

Yes we want equality, but how can we get it if we don’t celebrate and thank the men helping us along the way?

Why is it that we don’t celebrate men who empower and support women, why don’t we celebrate those single dad’s who are bringing up their kids on their own, or the brothers who are the only bread winners in the family and even those who work hard to support their families? What about those men who are currently helping women stand up against inequality, abuse and violence?

Let us celebrate these men, let us appreciate and acknowledge what they do for women. Let us talk about their health issues and the violence and abuse they face, let us talk about men getting raped and sexually harassed. And when we talk about these subjects, let us not forget to thank the men in our lives….

Thank You to all those men who are helping women in some way, those who empower us and those who work hard to help us achieve our dreams.

Thank you to those male teachers who don’t take advantage of young girls.

Thank you to the father’s who empower the women in their families to do what they love.

Thank you to the brothers who always stand by their sisters and mothers, those who are never afraid to speak out against the abuse that they face.

Thank you to the taxi driver who actually drops a girl off at her home, instead of taking advantage of her.

Thank you to those lawyers and prosecutors who are helping women put their rapists behind bars.

Thank you to the doctors who save the lives of women everyday.

Thank you to the police officers who assist women in reporting incidents.

There are so many men to thank. This post is just not enough.

If we want gender equality, we have to treat others the same way we would like to be treated. Let us not only celebrate IWD but let us celebrate International Men’s Day as well!